Frank Lampard's appointment as Coventry City manager was met with scepticism from supporters, but author Richard Chamberlain believes the former England midfielder has completely transformed the club's mentality and proved every doubter wrong.
Chamberlain, whose new book "Sky Blue Fall" charts Coventry's turbulent years following their 2001 Premier League relegation, has followed the club since the first Premier League season and admits he was among those unconvinced when Lampard replaced Mark Robins.
Speaking exclusively to Football Presse, Chamberlain said the biggest surprise was not simply Coventry's promotion, but the speed with which Lampard changed the team's mindset.
"I've got to say, no, I didn't expect it," Chamberlain says. "It was a very unpopular move to sack Mark Robins to start with because he'd done so well.
"Nobody was really calling for him to be sacked.
"Everybody would have been happy for him to be given at least until Christmas because traditionally we would start poorly and then turn it around under Mark Robins."
According to Chamberlain, Lampard inherited a difficult situation before he had even taken charge.
"Whoever came in had the problem that fans were upset to start with.
"So he had to start well."
Lampard's previous managerial spells at Derby County, Chelsea and Everton meant opinions were divided over whether he was the right appointment.
"There was talk of Ruud van Nistelrooy or Frank Lampard being the two names in the frame. I think a lot of fans were leaning towards Van Nistelrooy.
"Obviously Van Nistelrooy went to Leicester and had a terrible time there, so Doug King was judged to be absolutely correct."
Chamberlain believes Coventry owner Doug King deserves enormous credit for making a bold decision that many supporters opposed.
"Doug King has made decisions when we thought decisions didn't need to be made. We didn't think we had to sack Mark Robins.
"He did it, he was decisive, he got it done.
"He identified Lampard as the man he wanted and brought him in.
"It was incredible how quickly it all went right for us."
The author believes one quality above all else separated Lampard from many of Coventry's previous managers.
"I also think Coventry, the city and the football club, had a losing mentality for many, many years. We were always up against it, battling to survive.
"When you come down, it's difficult to switch that to a winning mentality.
"I don't think we ever did that until Mark Robins came in, and definitely under Frank Lampard."
Lampard's mentality, Chamberlain argues, stems from a career spent competing for football's biggest honours.
"Lampard is somebody who has won way more games than he's ever lost as a player. You can see from what he does as a manager that he goes to win games.
"For a long time we would think, 'Let's not lose.'
"I think we were stuck with that mentality for a very, very long time."
Far from transforming the squad through expensive signings, Chamberlain says Lampard improved almost every player already at the club.
"He didn't go out and buy loads of players. He worked mainly with the players that were already there.
"I think pretty much every player at the club improved under Lampard and his coaching staff."
He also highlighted Lampard's willingness to make brave tactical decisions during matches.
"I love Mark Robins to bits, but there was probably a period where you could predict his substitutions. Under Lampard, he would change it much, much sooner.
"There were games where at half-time he'd change things around, or five minutes into the second half.
"I think that's been key to the success he's had."
Although Chamberlain admits the Premier League presents an enormous challenge, his years watching Coventry through relegation, League Two football and ownership turmoil have changed his perspective.
"It's going to be tough. We do need to strengthen.
"But as a fan who's been there from the original Premier League days, then gone down to League Two, you value it so much more.
"It's an incredible thing for us to be back there.
"If the worst was to happen, I would back Doug King and Frank Lampard to get us back again."
After spending 25 years waiting for Coventry's return to the Premier League, Chamberlain believes the club finally has something it lacked for much of that journey: a manager whose first instinct is not to avoid defeat, but to win.
Richard Chamberlain is author of "Sky Blue Fall: Inside Coventry City’s Fall From Grace" from Pitch Publishing - which is available here.
